Water-meter.



C. & C. A. LORY.

WATER METER. APPLIoATIoN FILED JUNI: 10, 1907.

Patented Apr. 13, 1909.

A TTOHNEYS C. C. A. LORY.

WATER METER. I APPLIATION FILED JUNE 10, 1907. 918, 176. Patented Apr. 13, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ATTORNEYS C. & C. A. LORY.

WATER METER. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1o, 1907.

Patented Apr. 13, 1909. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

li'Z 4Zf W/T/VESSES UNTTED sTATns PATENT onnrcn.

CHRIS LORY, OF NEW WNDSOR, AND CHARLES A. LORY, FORT COLLINS, COLORADO.

WATER-METER. M

T 0. all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHRIS LoRY and CHARLES A. LoRY, both citizens of theUnited States, and residents,respectively, of New Vindsor, in the county of `VVeld and State of Colorado, and of Fort Collins, in the county of Larimer and State 'of`Colorado, have invented a new and Improved Water-Meter, of which Ithe following is a full, clear, and

exact description.

\ Our invention relates to meters, our more particular object being toproduce a type of meter for indicating and recording the volume of water iiowing through an irrigation l5 ditch, a Weir or a flume.

Our invention makes use of the fact that there is a definite relation between the rate of discharge and thel varying depth of the water, this rate of discharge being diderent v in diiferentsinstances, yet capable of being calculated from measurements or appropriate weir formulae. i' l From the known' relation between rate of discharge and depth of liquid, we construct an integrating or calculating cam hereinafter describe/d, and use this` cam to control the position of a carriage carrying a marker, the position of the carriage and marker being controllable byv the depth of the li uid, and the marker being employed to ma e a continuous line record upon a time-controlled movable record sheet.

ln the integrating or calculating cam the angular distance represented by the spiral' outline or boundary of the cam is proportional to the depth of water and the radial vec tor is proportional to the discharge. The design of the cam is such that one com lete revo ution of it covers the full range orP dis- 4,0 charge. foi` theweir or channel for which it isk intended. For instance, for a Weir of trape-4 zoidal cross section, or a Weir having a lrectangular cross section, or a submerged-Weir, or for a fiume or an open channel, the curve 45,of the rcamperi hery will vary more and' more from that o a logarithmic spiral. This cam is rotated .when the waterrises or falls, Ythis result being attained by movements of a float, the motion being transmitted to the 50. peri heral surface of the cam, as hereinafter exp ained, so that the float resting at different levels acts upon the cam with varying Specification of Letters Patent. Application lcd June 10,-107. Serial'No. 378,253.4

, figures.

Patented April 1S, 1909.

degrees of leverage, the length of the radii being different for different positions'of the Reference is to be had to the accompany-` connected with a comptometer for registeringthe virtual revolutions of the cone and consequently jthe-flow of water; Fig. 2 is a vertical cross section upon the line 2 2 of Fig. 1` looking in the direction of the arrow,

and showing at the left a device for indicating the depth of the liquid, and showing at the top of the glure the carriage carryingthe marking mec anism, and showing upon the carriage a roller wheeland accompanying parts for transmitting motion from the revolvin cone to the comptometer; Fig. 3 is a front e evation, partly diagrammatic, showing the carriage and the cam mechanism and parts associated therewith for moving the carriage; Fig. 4 is a reduced front elevation showing the casing containing the Working parts of the meter, and mounted upon the supporting column, and further showing the iioat, the casing ofthe latter being in section; and? Fig. 5 is a front elevation artly diagra'mmatic, showing a slightly d' erent form of cam mechanism and connections therefro'm to the carriage-.-

An irrigation ditch is shown at '5 and ay body of water flowing therethrough at 6.

. At 7 is a weir provided, as usual, with an opening 8, the purpose of this weir with its opening being to so directthe flowof the Water as'to permit of 'ready'measurement of its depth, as compared with its speed. In other wordsfit is to ive a part of the ditch a shapeserving as a `efinitive basis of operations. irrigation ditch andy depending from this beam is a casing 10 having a bottom 11.

`Apertures 12, 13 areprovided to permit the A beam 9 rests directly across the ingress and egress of air' and Water, in order that the Water inside ofthe casing may have' a level representative of that of the Walter" I the Working parts and the li outside ofthe casing. r v A oat 14 rests'upon the Water Within the casing and is free to move up and down in accordance With differences in the Water level.4` Extending upwardly from the float 14 is a rod 15. A supporting column 16^is provided with a capital 17 uponWhich rests a casing 18 provided Witha cover or lid 19,- this casing being for the pur ose of inclosinb1 vbeing provided in order to facilitateaccess to these Working parts( For convenience the lid 19 is provided With a windowL 20, plreferably of curved lass and through wh the operation of ie inclosed mechanism may readily be observed.

'Mounted upon a base 21 are standards 22, 23, constituting parts of a general framework. Bearings 24, support a revoluble shaftf26 upon which are mounted cams 27 28. By means of set screws v28 these cams may be set in dierent positions relatively to-the shaft 26, in order to` accommof date the instrument to different conditions.

,oluble dis 36 is A disk 30 is. rovided With a threaded hub 29, the latter eing keyed firmly upon the shaft 26, the disk 30 being thus turned thereby. The disk 30 is provided With an annular scale 31 (see Fig. 1) forfindicating its osition relatively to other parts. A stationary pointer 32,l having preferably the form ofagvernier member (see Fig. 1) is mounted upon'a stationary pointer arm 33,

the latter being provided ,With a base 34 secured ri idly upon a shoulder 35. A revrovided with a hub 36 of annular form a apted to be engaged by a revoluble nut 36b threaded upon the hub 29. By loosening the nut 36b the disk 36 maiy lbe i adjusted' relatively to the disk 30' an desires to change it.

tightening the nut 36E its relative adjustment may be maintained until the operator VIn Fig'. 5 the carriage is shoivn at 50a Iand- Amounted upon itis Va rod 50b which, engages 'antifriction rollers 50c mounted upon stationary brackets 50d. The 'cam 28 is provided With a spiral groove 28c which Works the roller 28d. The turning of the cam 28b controls the osition of the carria e u50a to the right or eft, the general resu t being much the same as with the apparatus shown in Fig. 3. The adjustment being once made, the disks 30, 36, together with the shaft 26, are adapted toturn as a unit,

so that any revluble movement of the shaft 26 in either direction, is shown at once by .the indicator. The disk 36 is provided with sprocketstuds 37 and is partially yencircled by a belt 38, preferably of metal, provided lWith sprocket holes 39 mating the) sprocket studs 37.. A sprocket pulley 40 is mounted circle.

5ime

upon a hanger 41 and disposed below the capital 17. \This'sprocket pulley engages the belt 38.

the rod 15 asses loosely. The rod 15 is The lower end of the hanger 41 v is provided With a Vguide 42 through Which' connected with the band 38 by a fastening 43 and by this arrangement vertical movement ofthe rod 15 is communicated to the band. One run, 44, of a Wire or equivalent flexible connectionhis partially Woundupon the spiral cam 27 and passes around a pulley 45 mounted .upon a stub shaft 46, and the other run, 47, of said Wire similarly passes around a pulley 48 and is partially Wbund upon the cam 28, being secured thereto by a fastening 49.y At 50 is shown a carriage which isl provided With a depending lug 51 to Which the runs 44 and 47 of the wire are secured. Each cam 27, 28 is `Whatvve call a calculating or inte ating cam, its peripheral curve having a re ation to the rate of How of Water through the Weir. The curvature of the cams 27, 28 is so plotted out that the total aggregate length of the cords unwound from the cams is constant. IThat is to say, as acord unwinds frombne of the cams another 'cor'd is Wound upon the other cam, the total length o f both cords being thus maintained 'constant in orderthat strains upon thecord shall not vary when the cams areiturned in either direction. The carriage 5() is provided With track Wheels 53 which engage a rod 52 serving as a track. This rod .may be adjusted by means of screws 54 and for this purpose'is mounted in-bearings, one of which is shown at 55. The carriage 50is provided with an arm 56 projecting laterally and rearwardly from the carriage.l Mountedv upon this arm is a bracket 57\provided with a marker 58, which may be a pencil or a i stylus as desired. f

` A Wheel 59 (see` Fig.` 2) is provided with a (hub\60 which is j ournaled in bearings 61 ,car-l ried bythe arm 56. A s uare shaft 62 eX tends directly through the lub 60, the latter mit of movement of the Wheel 59 along the axis represented by l the square shaft 62. Journaledfuponthe Wheel 59 are rollers 63, 64 lsubstantially lozenge shape, .these rollers, being each revolubleupon its own axis and g .being thus splined thereupon, so as to per v yet adapted to revolve -bodilyendvvise around .i

the shaft 62 as a center. Owing to the cur'- ,vature of the rollers 63 and i6r4, the general through the bearing 67 and is rigidly secured to the disk 66. W'hen the driving shaft 69 l is turned, the cone 65is'cau'sed to revolve.

winding stem 71.

wheels 73 for indicating the flow of water.

\ a depth of four feet.

A spring motor 74 is provided with a winding stem 75 and disposed oppositely to this i spring motor is a plate 76. Partially wound upon a roller 77 is a record band 78, the latter passing -partially around a roller 79, adjacentto which is a guide rod 80. Afgraduated scale 83a is disposed under the marker 58 so that at any given moment an observer can note the rate of discharge aswell as the depth and without referring to the permanent record.

After leaving the roller 79 the record band passes partially around a roller 81, thence beneath a guide rod 82, next around a roller 83, thence over a guide rod 84 to a roller 85. The roller 77 is turned by the spring motorr 74, and the record band is gradually wound upon the roller 77 and unwound from the roller 85. The passage of the paper record, taken in connection with the pressure of the marker 58, causes a continuous line to be marked upon the record. fr

The'operation of our invention is as follows: The proportions of the cams 27, 28 having been worked out in accordance with the requirements of a. particular location, and the apparatus having been duly installed, the operator next measures the depth of water passing through the Weir. Suppose he'finds it to be-four feet. He next loosens the nut 36b (Fig. 2), and adjusts the disks 30, 36 relatively to each other, so that the indicator, shown at the left of Fig. 1, will register Any subsequent rise or fall of the water passing through the weir will of course be shown by thisindicator. In adjusting the disks 30, 36 relatively to each other, theoperator necessarily moves the carriage 5() to a proper distance, corresponding to this relative adjustment, and therefore corresponding to the dept-h of water in the weir. The spring motor 70 being next thrown into action causes the cone to turn and the rotation of this cone is always at a constant rate of speed. If, now, the water in the Weir becomes deeper, the float l14 rises and carries `the rod 15 upward, thus causingthe band 38 to turn the disks 30,- 36

in a contra-clockwise direction, according to' l the water passing through the weir similarly causes the carriage 50 to move to the left.

En executing these movements, the carriage shifts the general position of the roller wheel 59 to the right or to the left, according to whether the level of the water be rising or The driving shaft 69 is connected with and i driven by a motor 70, the latter being wound up after the manner of a clock by aid of a i A comptometer is shown l at 72 and is provided with numbering l Now, since the number of turns of the cone 65 is always constant. for a given length of time,\it follows that the farther the carriage 5() is moved to the right, according to Fig. 1, the larger must be the diameter of that part of the cone 65 engaging the rollers 63, 64 (see Figs. 1 vand 2). The rotation of the cone causes the roller wheel 59 to turn. The rollers 64 have, as a general rule, comparatively little movement upon their own axes. The reason why they are made revoluble upon their own axes is merely to avoid undue frictional drag upon the cone 65 when the carriage is shifted. As a matter of fact, the carriage may remain stationary for hours and in this case the rollers 64 have no movement except the general turning movement of the wheel 59.

From the above it will be seen that kthe number` of revolutions of the square shaft 62 for a given length of time is controlled by the depth of water passing through the weir, and consequently that if the cams 27, 28, and other'parts, are properly proportioned, they water iiowing through the Weir 'should be registered faithfully by the comptometer 72. lt is also apparent that at any particular moment the depth of water passing through the Weir may be ascertained by a glance at the indicator shown` at the left of Fig. 1. lt' is further apparent that as the record sheet 78 moves at a uniform rate of speed, the marker 58 must leave upon this record sheet a mark which may represent the resultant of' the depth of water passing through the weir at each and every given moment, and also similarly indicate the depth of the water. For convenience in interpreting the record, it is ruled transversely for prime integrals and longitudinally for discharge rates. That is to say, the ordinates and abscissae of the record band are so arranged that the lengths of the marks along the general direction of the length of the band indicate time, and the displacement of the marks relatively to the longitudinal edges of the band represents the rate of flow of water through the Weir, the rate being reckoned, we will say,.in cubic feet, or other units of volume.

It will be noted that the invention above described may be applied to any channel having a definite permanent cross section of any form.

` Having thus described our invention, we claim as'new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

The combination of a carriage, means controllable by changes in water level, for shiftriage, a Comptorrieter connected With said names to this speciioation the presence of revoluble member and actuated thereby7 tWo subscribing Witnesses. rollers mounted upon said revoluble member CHRIS LORY I in order to facilitate the travel of the oaro riage, and a conical driving member engag- CHAS A LORY Y ing said rollers for the purpose of turning Witnesses;

' said revoluble member. i RALPH L. PARSHALL,

In testimony whereof We have signed our i JOHN H. V. FINNEY. 

